tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post2190962076097877743..comments2024-03-13T23:42:25.845-07:00Comments on Animondays: The Animation Studio BluesDavid B. Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-55277692669439042572010-04-07T12:11:48.443-07:002010-04-07T12:11:48.443-07:00We do plenty of stupid things to make up for any s...We do plenty of stupid things to make up for any smart ones.roconnorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04933040935053560675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-313243615063050772010-04-06T08:48:44.418-07:002010-04-06T08:48:44.418-07:00ROC,
Other hidden costs I'd add to your list ...ROC,<br /><br />Other hidden costs I'd add to your list are: not being good at finding work or managing jobs, over expansion (too big a space, too many computers, etc), and too many senior staff skimming off the top. Just think of how much these follies cost. <br /><br />I think these are the main reasons studios have so much trouble. If they solved this list of "hidden costs" they might find some real profit. And maybe they would not need to be asking anyone to illegally work for free.<br /><br />The smart studios like yourself don't have these problems, but many of the medium to big "empire" style studios do. They are helping to bring about their own extinction.David B. Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-72613862500186328402010-04-06T08:27:45.615-07:002010-04-06T08:27:45.615-07:00Hi Emmett,
The thing to remember is that at any po...Hi Emmett,<br />The thing to remember is that at any point in animation, building a career in this industry has never been an easy thing. Today has its own set of problems and advantages. Folks just starting out have to be creative in how and where they look for work as opposed to simply lining up to work for free.David B. Levyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12611160893518781463noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-74276275402242598632010-04-05T22:11:29.244-07:002010-04-05T22:11:29.244-07:00Running a company has lots more "hidden"...Running a company has lots more "hidden" costs than just paying employees.<br /><br />There are all the insurances and taxes that go along with hiring workers -worker's comp, payroll, disability. These are things which are legally required.<br /><br />On top of that many contracts require liability or other coverage. A yearly policy can be upwards of $5000.<br /><br />If you rent space you've got to pay for things like trash removal and other odds and ends which would never occur to you. It all adds up to a lot of money -money which clients don't like to see in their budgets so "you've got to hide your overhead away."<br /><br />As for the intern thing, there's no doubt there can benefits to the artist. The fact is, however, it's against the law.roconnorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04933040935053560675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-73014193806216381482010-04-05T13:33:21.894-07:002010-04-05T13:33:21.894-07:00Looks like we do things in a similar way. Ultimate...Looks like we do things in a similar way. Ultimately, we're just a couple of guys pitching our ideas and trying to get our shows off the ground while at the same time taking full-time salaried work that keeps us paying bills. To supplement this we sometimes take freelance animation assignments through our partnership and hand out work to local friends and associates -- and by local i mean an email away. When money from clients comes in -- it always goes to those who help us out first. Without trusted and trusting men in the trenches we'd never get anything done. It's important to be responsible to those who work for you -- even if it means not taking anything for youself every so often. I know that the guys will more than likely be there for me when I need a hand -- and they can be confident that they'll get paid as soon as the client coughs up.Thornyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16665041789895427467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-738814364413384768.post-45363396833269293342010-04-05T09:40:39.278-07:002010-04-05T09:40:39.278-07:00I had a feeling you were going to write something ...I had a feeling you were going to write something inspired by the NY Times article.<br /><br />It was such a relief to read that, because I didn't know if I was doing anything wrong in handling my last few jobs. But not its even clearer to me that they simply needed free labor, and they used sneaky semantics to draw workers in. <br /><br />I know the point of this entry is about how studios work (both virtual and independent). But to make it there, animators need to be paid to get it started.Emmetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02550182438003731076noreply@blogger.com